FPT's Chairman and The Aspiration To Make Da Nang the Tech Hub of Central Vietnam

Da Nang, on June 25, 2022, the Da Nang Investment Forum (IDF) 2022 took place at the Sheraton Grand Da Nang hotel with the participation of more than 600 domestic and international delegates. The participants included government leaders, reps of relevant ministries, departments, and agencies; embassies and consulates in the City; representatives of central agencies; business associations and institutions; domestic and foreign enterprises and investors.

The Forum was a key event to announce valuable information about investment, economics, and trade activities to domestic and foreign investors. Besides the latest topics in city planning and infrastructure, the main highlights of the IDF 2022 were investment activities related to enhancing Da Nang's technological capacity and constructing a modern city by forming high-tech parks and concentrated zones.

As an enterprise leading digital transformation in Vietnam and accompanying Da Nang for more than two decades of creating multi-field business activities, FPT also proposed practical suggestions and contributions to city construction plans. Furthermore, the Corporation shared its desire to make Da Nang the tech hub of Central Vietnam.

Overview of IDF 2022

Da Nang - The tech hub of Central Vietnam

For years, information technology (IT) and high tech have been on track to affirm their stature as spearheading economic sectors of Da Nang. From 2015 through 2020, Da Nang recorded rapid development in the ICT industry at an average rate of 12% per year, contributing about 7% to the GRDP growth rate. In 2021, the IT industry accounted for 8.2% of the City's GDP and was one of the five pillars of growth. In addition, Da Nang led a series of international awards, such as Top in Provincial Digital Transformation Index in 2020, the Smart City Asia Pacific Award in 2019, and the Vietnam Smart City Award in 2020-2021.

Software development was the most advantageous economic sector of Da Nang's IT industry, with solid revenue growth. As a result, a series of software and information technology parks were constructed, bringing high economic value and contributing positively to the City's economy: Software Park No. 1, No. 2, FPT Complex - The software service center, Da Nang Centralized IT Park…
In the opening speech, Mr. Le Trung Chinh - Deputy Secretary of the Da Nang City Party Committee and Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee - shared similar views with the Head of the Government. Until now, Da Nang faced challenges in the turbulent situation after Covid-19. However, the City was more proactive and prepared for new waves of investment.

"Da Nang has remained among leading localities in the provincial competitiveness index, being the first in the IT-readiness index and the third in the public administration reform index nationwide," Mr. Chinh said.

FPT Corporation has made impressive contributions during the past two decades in Da Nang in the fields of technology, education, and telecommunications. At this forum, Mr. Truong Gia Binh, Chairman of The Corporation - also delivered his inspiring speech about aspirations to accompany Da Nang in creating socio-economic miracles in the digital era.

The Chairman of FPT Corporation at the Da Nang Investment Forum (IDF) 2022

He said, during their visit to FPT in 2000, provincial leaders once mentioned the ambition to make Da Nang become the tech hub of the Central region. At that point in time, FPT had just started software outsourcing. With the support of Da Nang's senior officers, FPT Corporation set its first steps in the City, strongly contributing to the City's development and gradually bringing the yearnings of the past into reality.

The Corporation made great efforts and contributed 20% of the City's IT revenue. FPT also paid more than VND 515 billion to the city budget (in 2021). Moreover, FPT proudly achieved a remarkable milestone in software outsourcing service with an average growth rate of over 20% per year. In order to lay the foundation for disruptive innovation, the Corporation established the complex buildings of IT and Smart city - FPT City, with an area of over 181 hectares in the Southeast of the City. The F-Complex of FPT City has completed two thirds of its facilities so far. By June 2022, there were nearly 7,000 employees here, including 5,000 software engineers, equivalent to a quarter of the total IT workforce of Da Nang. The Corporation created tens of thousands of jobs with average earnings of 18 million VND/employee, about 20% higher than the average salary in Da Nang. As a result, high incomes helped attract high-quality resources to join the City's workforce.

In the field of education and training, FPT Education has so far educated more than 17,500 students, providing Da Nang with preeminent human resources. At the same time, FPT was also a reputable brand name contributing to smart healthcare and transportation in Da Nang. For example, it implemented an overall management system for 12 out of 16 hospitals in the City with more than 4,000 beds. It was also in charge of deploying Da Nang's traffic portal, etc.

On this occasion, FPT Corporation received the Certificate of Merit from the People's Committee of Da Nang City for its achievements in investment promotion.

FPT accompanied Da Nang to create miracles in the digital age

Suggesting for Da Nang in the new period, FPT's Chairman said that the fourth industrial revolution - the Digital Revolution - had substantial impacts on the national economies and affected each locality. It made structural changes, boosted growth, and expanded new development models. Encountering those obstacles, Mr. Binh believed that technology must be one of the strategic spearheads for Da Nang. It must become a startup center, a technology hub, and a golden land for developing the gaming industry.

As estimated, FPT would invest VND 6,000 billion in Da Nang in 2022-2025. The Corporation would continue to improve the education-technology complex to reach 10,000 programmers by 2024. It was also willing to share technology, knowledge, and experience with other enterprises in Da Nang, including IT companies that caught up with emerging technology trends such as Blockchain, Metaverse, AI… FPT was committed to accompanying and leading startups towards the desire to turn Da Nang into the epicenter of digital world creation in the future.

The global software market continued to grow at a high rate, averaging 11.3% per year and reaching USD 608.7 billion in 2022. The gaming market overgrew as well, reaching more than USD 203 billion (2022). In fact, it was continuously expanding in revenue, the number of players, and the participation of "giants" in the game sector: Netflix, Snapchat, TikTok, Amazon, Google, Apple... Catching the trend, Vietnam was gradually raising its position in the games software industry. It ranked 7th in terms of game downloads worldwide. For every 25 games downloaded, there was one produced by a Vietnamese company, according to the App Annie 2020 rankings.

FPT's Chairman affirmed that Da Nang was fully capable of utilizing this opportunity to become the center of the games software industry and high-tech startups. Moreover, it became even better convincing as the City was currently an ideal destination for leading international enterprises in the field of gaming technology and high-tech industries.

"After two decades of development, the City possesses good competence to break through in terms of policies, workforce, location, and urban infrastructure. It has paved the way to conquer digital economic goals by 2025, becoming the high-tech hub of the Central region towards Singapore's recipe for success,' Mr.Binh summarized.